China film copyright org to tackle piracy

MPAA approached on royalties

The China Film Copyright Assn. has invited foreign movie copyright holders to come and discuss ways of cooperating to improve the situation regarding issues such as royalties on movies and piracy.

CFCA spokeswoman Shi Wenxia told the China Daily newspaper that although her org had not started collecting royalties for overseas movies yet, “the foreign film copyright offices are welcome to discuss the matter with us.”

Shi said the CFCA had brief communications with NBC and Disney. But, an easier way, she said, would be to go through the MPAA.

The CFCA estimates that Chinese Internet users ages 18 to 35 each download an average of 31 movies annually, many pirated. Hollywood has long complained about the problem. The CFCA statement looks like an effort to show it is serious about addressing piracy that it estimates will cost the film industry $2 billion this year. It will begin charging Internet cafes and long-distance buses for showing movies in eight provinces and municipalities next year. It will later apply the ruling nationwide.